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Bahá’í News

November 1983

Bahá’í Year 140

The Mother Temple of India

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Bahá’í News

Iran’s Bahá’í administrative institutions banned by government order	1
Agnes Alexander, part 2: Teaching the Faith in Japan, Korea, Hawaii	2
India’s Bahá’í Youth Academy: growing, developing—and succeeding	10
In the U.S., Louhelen School’s marriage institute ‘breaks new ground’	12
Around the world: News from Bahá’í communities all over the globe	13

Bahá’í News is published monthly by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States as a news organ reporting current activities of the Bahá’í world community. Manuscripts submitted should be typewritten and double spaced throughout; any footnotes should appear at the end. The contributor should keep a carbon copy. Send materials to the Periodicals Office, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, U.S.A. Changes of address should be reported to the Office of Membership and Records, Bahá’í National Center. Please attach mailing label. Subscription rates: one year, $12 U.S.; two years, $20 U.S. Second class postage paid at Wilmette, IL 60091. Copyright © 1983, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

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Iran deals ‘sorely tried’ friends heavy blow

SORELY TRIED COMMUNITY GREATEST NAME IRAN HAS IN RECENT DAYS SUSTAINED YET ANOTHER CRUEL BLOW OPENING NEW CHAPTER ITS TURBULENT HISTORY. ON 29 AUGUST IN UNPRECEDENTED MOVE REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT THROUGH STATEMENT ISSUED ATTORNEY GENERAL ANNOUNCED BAN BAHÁ’Í ADMINISTRATION, RECITING USUAL FALSE ACCUSATIONS STATING EXISTENCE ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALLY CONSIDERED TO BE AGAINST LAWS CONSTITUTION COUNTRY. HOWEVER STATEMENT SAID BAHÁ’ÍS MAY PRACTICE BELIEFS AS PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS PROVIDED THEY DO NOT TEACH OR INVITE OTHERS TO JOIN FAITH, THEY DO NOT FORM ASSEMBLIES OR HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH ADMINISTRATION. SERVING IN BAHÁ’Í ADMINISTRATION NOW SPECIFIED AS CRIMINAL ACT. THIS LATEST ONSLAUGHT DEFENSELESS COMMUNITY CLEARLY DEMONSTRATES IMPLACABILITY FANATICAL ELEMENTS IN THEIR DRIVE SUPPRESS LIGHT GOD’S INFANT FAITH IN LAND ITS FIRST GLEAMING.

IN CONFORMITY PRINCIPLE LOYALTY OBEDIENCE GOVERNMENT NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY IRAN IMMEDIATELY TOOK ACTION DISSOLVE BAHÁ’Í ADMINISTRATION THROUGHOUT COUNTRY THUS UPHOLDING INTEGRITY COMMUNITY DESPITE HEAVY YOKE CRUELTIES BORNE BY ITS MEMBERS FOR SEVERAL GENERATIONS. CONFIDENT THAT STEADFAST TRIED AND DEVOTED FRIENDS THAT LONG-AGITATED LAND WILL FACE NEW SITUATION WITH RADIANT FORTITUDE. AT SAME TIME BAHÁ’ÍS ELSEWHERE ENJOYING FREEDOM PRACTICE FAITH ACUTELY CHALLENGED TO VINDICATE BY THEIR RECONSECRATION TO IMMEDIATE SACRED TASKS UNABATED SUFFERING THEIR GRIEVOUSLY WRONGED IRANIAN BRETHREN. INDEED ALL NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES URGED TAKE STEPS STRENGTHEN FOUNDATION BAHÁ’Í INSTITUTIONS THEIR COUNTRIES AS TRIBUTE SACRIFICES COURAGEOUSLY ACCEPTED MEMBERS COMMUNITY BAHÁ’U’LLÁH’S NATIVE LAND.

UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
SEPTEMBER 13, 1983

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‘Spiritual victories’ in Japan, Korea

Second of three parts

Agnes Alexander traveled to Japan six times—twice at ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s request and four times at the bidding of Shoghi Effendi.¹ Altogether, her pioneering services there totaled some 32 years, spanning more than half a century.

Shortly after her arrival in Japan in November 1914 she traveled to Tokyo where she joined forces with another Bahá’í from Hawaii, Dr. George Augur.² Together they began the first Bahá’í meetings in that land.

The first Japanese to embrace the Cause in Japan itself³ was an 18-year-old schoolboy. A school teacher had attended a Bahá’í meeting and told his class that a woman in Tokyo was teaching a new religion. When Kikutaro Fukuta heard this, he felt instantly that it was the truth and began attending the meetings. In broken English he worded this touching petition to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:

“O my Master ‘Abdu’l-Bahá! How great mercy and benevolence that Thou hast descended upon us through an apostle Alexander! Though I am a base and poor youth in this world, I am being awakened and bathed in the ocean of Thy mercy, so happy that I pity the king and the prince who are wandering about in the dream of temporal variance.

The second in a three-part series on the life of the Hand of the Cause of God Agnes Baldwin Alexander was written by Duane Troxel, an assistant professor of educational technology at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. Dr. Troxel, who has a PhD. in education from Temple University in Philadelphia, served from 1979-83 as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Hawaiian Islands.

Accept, O Master, my deep thankfulness from the bottom of my heart. I am very sorry when I think of our fellowmen who take no thought about real happiness and do not rely upon the warm hand of Thy love. O my Lord! Water me forever with the fountain of mercy; I will never refuse Thy command whatsoever it may be. Forgive my sins, and allow me to awaken my fellow men.”⁴

Agnes Alexander in a photograph taken in Japan around 1914.

Not long after her arrival, Agnes joined the Universal Esperanto Association. Through it she met Vasily Eroshenko, a blind Russian youth. He became the “door through which a new world opened to the Japanese blind through the Esperanto language.”⁵ He taught Agnes Braille in English and Esperanto. Using the medium of Braille, she was able to communicate the Bahá’í Teachings to those who possessed spiritual insight. In 1917 she wrote “A Letter to the Blind Women of Japan,” which was translated into Japanese Braille. This was Japan’s first Bahá’í publication.

‘Spiritual brotherhood’

In July 1915 Agnes was visited by a Miss Martha Root who was making a “journalistic trip around the world” to see for herself “how the Bahá’í Teachings were really uniting into one great spiritual brotherhood the diverse races and religions.”⁶ Agnes and Martha instantly forged a deep spiritual attachment to one another. Martha Root was Agnes’ inspiration to begin writing for the Cause. Throughout the rest of her life she wrote of the Faith in books, articles, radio scripts, and press releases. For a time she was a contributing editor to the Bahá’í magazine Star of the West.

When Martha left Japan, Agnes said she left behind a bright spot “and certainly sowed many seeds for the Cause.”⁷

Every teaching trip Agnes embarked upon in those days was important in one way or another. But of all the trips she took, the one to Ejiri in the sum- mer of 1916 brought her the greatest joy, for it was on that trip that she gave the Message to a blind student, Tokujiro Torii.⁸ He later said there came to him one day “a messenger of the Kingdom of Abhá and lifted up the veil of my soul ... Every word she spoke to me was wonderful and luminous. It dispelled the darkness from my soul, brought fragrances to my heart like the breeze from the green fields, and made my inner sight keener and fresher than ever.”⁹

[Page 3] Miss Alexander left Japan in 1917 after receiving an urgent cable from home. She spent the next two years in Hawaii and on the U.S. mainland. While staying with an aunt in Montclair, New Jersey, she received a Tablet from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá containing this astonishing opening: “O thou daughter of the Kingdom! Although your letter has not yet been received, yet we do answer it.” He advised her to “hasten back to Japan, for in Japan you will be assisted and exalted.”¹⁰

Before returning to her post, Agnes attended the 1919 U.S. Convention, held that year at the McAlpin Hotel in New York City.¹¹ It was there that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablets of the Divine Plan were unveiled for the first time. In them He said this: “Consider ye, that Miss Agnes Alexander, the daughter of the Kingdom, the beloved maidservant of the Blessed Perfection, traveled alone to Hawaii and now she is gaining spiritual victories in Japan!”¹² Agnes returned to Japan in August 1919.

Agnes always awaited inspiration before carrying out any activity for the Cause. One day in 1920 she was praying, “Then suddenly, like a flash of light, a great joy filled my heart. The inspiration which came was entirely unexpected. It was that I would go to Korea and take His Message.”¹³

Dr. George Augur, the first Bahá’í from Hawaii to pioneer overseas.

Agnes Alexander with Vasily Eroshenko, a blind Russian youth who taught her Braille in English and Esperanto, thus opening ‘many doors’ to the Faith. The photograph was taken in Tokyo in 1915.

In the fall of 1921 she became the first Bahá’í to set foot in Korea. Because the activities of foreigners were then closely scrutinized by the Korean police, Agnes decided to obtain permission to carry out her teaching plans. She went to the official in charge and explained the purpose of her visit. She also presented him with a translation of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s advice to another pioneer, Fanny Knobloch of South Africa. Some of the Master’s words were: “It may be that the government of those regions will check thee. Thou shouldst say, ‘I am a Bahá’í and a friend with all religions and nations. I consider all to be of one race and count them as my relatives. I have divine love and not racial and sectarian love.’ ”¹⁴ The official was so delighted with the Master’s words that he gave Agnes three letters of introduction to important officials in that country—one of whom was the governor of Korea.

En route to Seoul, Agnes said she felt as though she were “going to my family instead of to a strange country,” and she was “thrilled with the realization that it was virgin land where the soil was pure and ready for seed sowing.”¹⁵

While in Japan she had met a Korean named Mr. Oh who told her she should go one day to Korea because the people there were “thirsty for true religion.”¹⁶ Since then her link with Mr. Oh had been severed. Now she turned to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in prayer, supplicating Him to bring them together. Shortly afterward she was riding in a streetcar when she felt someone grasp her hand. She looked up to see Mr. Oh!

From that point on he became her guide and interpreter. Together they planned Korea’s first Bahá’í public meeting. With only one day’s lead time, they advertised the talk in the local paper. When they reached the meeting place they were astonished to see about 900 Koreans patiently waiting! Agnes spoke to them simply, holding aloft a photograph of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Afterward, she invited seekers from that meeting to a Bahá’í feast. Each one who came was asked to write his sentiments and name on a card ad-

[Page 4] dressed to the Master. These are a few of their comments: “Just now I found the brilliant light of Bahá.” “The universal supreme mountain of Truth.” “Oh freedom! Oh Bahá’í!”¹⁷

After a month of successful proclamation and teaching in Korea, Agnes returned to Tokyo. She then received a Tablet from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (delivered posthumously) praising her efforts in Korea. Although they never met, her attachment to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was great. Throughout the remainder of her life she would turn to Him for help in times of need. The strength of her conviction is revealed in her response to His passing. Instead of dampening her ardor, the event seems to have inflamed it still further. In letters written to a Bahá’í friend at that time she says: “... let us be very near to each other in spirit in these great days.

“In His great love and mercy He left a Tablet for the new friends of Korea and one to me. Pray dearest sister, that I may fulfil His Hope in Korea and may be selfless at His Door.”¹⁸

“... I wish you were here with me in this little house, because with united hearts we could spread a great bouquet of love. We could sacrifice all in love to Him.”

‘Herald of Truth’ in Japan

“It seems I must always stand alone, but dear, He does not forsake His children. We know His Love—that is all we must seek.”¹⁹ In a Tablet to a Japanese Bahá’í, written in the last year of His life, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá called Agnes “the herald of Truth in Japan. Rest assured that she will be confirmed and assisted.”²⁰ In later years the Guardian assured her, “The Master is watching over and blessing your historic services.”²¹

Martha Root (seated second from left) and Agnes Alexander (standing behind Miss Root) in Tokyo, 1915. Seated at the left is Kikutaro Fukuta, the first Japanese to embrace the Cause in Japan itself.

Upon the Master’s passing in 1921, Shoghi Effendi Rabbani (1897-1957) became Guardian and head of the Bahá’í Faith. His first letter to the Bahá’ís of Japan was sent in care of Agnes. In it he recalled a statement of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s concerning Japan, saying: “These were His very words, that still keep ringing in my ears:—‘Japan will turn ablaze! Japan is endowed with a most remarkable capacity for the spread of the Cause of God!’ ”²²

Rock-firm in the Covenant, Agnes had no difficulty accepting the Master’s successor, Shoghi Effendi, as “the sign of God on earth.” Of the first personal letter received from him she wrote, “The words penned by his hand at the end of the letter so affected me that, for several days my heart was filled with joy and inspiration, and a realization came to me of the power with which God had endowed him.”²³ She was one of those who in later years cheered his heart when disunity and

[Page 5] Covenant-breaking drove him into seclusion in Switzerland. He wrote that “her glorious service in Japan” had rejoiced his heart and strengthened his “confidence in the future glories of that far eastern land.”²⁴

‘Two weeks in Heaven’

Martha Root²⁵ arrived in Tokyo in April 1923. Indefatigable Martha! Agnes arranged a full schedule of teaching activities for this remarkable Bahá’í. Martha spoke to schools, universities, Esperantists, peace societies, YMCA groups and the blind. When the time came for her departure for China she wrote in Agnes’ guest book: “I have spent two weeks in Heaven with my precious sister, Agnes. Ya Baha El Abha!”²⁶

Agnes was in Tokyo on September 1, 1923, when a stupendous earthquake rocked Japan. “It shook Tokyo as a terrier does a rat, at noon when all the luncheon fires in the city were lit, and within a few seconds the city was ablaze from end to end.”²⁷ Agnes said, “As soon as the first tremor subsided, I rushed into the house and procured my hand bag in which I carried the Prayer for protection revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ... When the earth began again to tremble, I read the Prayer aloud. Three times this occurred, and each time quiet came after the reading.”²⁸

Mr. and Mrs. Tokujiro Torii with Agnes Alexander (center), circa 1916.

Agnes Alexander, the first to take the Faith to Korea, is shown in that country in a photograph taken in September or October 1921.

When it was over, Tokyo, Yokohama and the neighboring villages were utterly destroyed. The death toll exceeded 150,000; more than 100,000 others were injured. From throughout the Bahá’í world Agnes received letters of concern and consolation. One precious letter came from Baḥíyyih Khánum, the Greatest Holy Leaf:²⁹ “The Lord has surely kept you safe amid the crumbling walls of that great city of Japan, that you in turn might accomplish the task that lies before you and I never doubt that you are surely worthy of His Grace.”³⁰

Homeless, Agnes traveled to Korea and then to China where she joined Martha Root. Only four years earlier ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had told some pilgrims, “New China has awakened.”³¹ The white faces of Agnes and Martha were a curious novelty to many Chinese.

Travel was sometimes difficult and dangerous. Seated on the wooden floor of a springless, donkey-drawn cart, they traveled for miles in bitterly cold weather. On another occasion they encountered 13 freshly decapitated heads hung from the gate of a city, proclaiming to all the fate of Chinese ban-

[Page 6] Agnes Alexander (seated second from left) and Martha Root (seated to her left) with students and faculty during a visit in 1923 to Keio University in Japan.

dits who are caught. It could not have been a reasurring sight to three middle-aged women traveling without escort (Agnes’ sister, Mary Charlotte, who was not a Bahá’í, accompanied them on the trip).³²

After three months Agnes left China to return home to Honolulu. It is surprising to learn that she did not plan to make her home in Japan. “In the future,” she wrote, “I will return to China & Korea and of course pass through Japan, but I don’t think I will live there again.” She intended to visit Korea and make an indefinite stay in China.³³

Shoghi Effendi praised her efforts in China, but reminded her of “the sacred interests of the Cause in Japan,” saying, “you are that radiant herald who has raised the Call of Salvation in its very heart and to whom it owes a great debt of gratitude.”³⁴ On another occasion he wrote, “I feel that your destiny lies in that far-off and promising country (Japan) where your noble and pioneer services future generations will befittingly glorify and thankfully remember.”³⁵ And, “Your name will forever remain associated with the rise of the Faith and its establishment in Japan, and the record of your incessant and splendid endeavours will shed on its annals a lustre that time can never dim.”³⁶

Agnes accomplished some notable firsts during her Hawaiian sojourn, 1924 to 1928. In May 1924 she completed the maiden travel teaching voyage to the island of Hawaii, traversing the largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. She spoke in churches, Buddhist temples, YMCAs and schools. Her talks were published in both the English- and Japanese-language press. In July she sailed for Kauai where she gave the premier presentation of the Teachings to that island. In 1927 she began a Bahá’í children’s class “under a spreading monkeypod tree ...”³⁷ Nevertheless, she had not forgotten the Guardian’s wish that she return to Japan. Before returning she collected, and had published, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablets to Japan.

Agnes Alexander in a photograph taken in New York City in 1919.

[Page 7] The ‘indefatigable’ Martha Root in a photograph probably taken in China around 1923-24.

Agnes Alexander in her room in Tokyo shortly after her return to Japan in 1928. The photograph was taken on December 26 of that year.

Agnes’ third visit to Japan began on January 24, 1928. She landed in Tokyo, now completely rebuilt since the catastrophic quake five years earlier. Always thrifty in her habits, Agnes had decided not to ship her car from Honolulu: “This is not the place for a lady to drive an auto. The streets are bad & there are many bicycles & disorder. One can hire an auto within the city for 1 yen fixed price, so it is very convenient. There are 2 men to manage the taxi. One drives, & the other jumps out to inquire the way.”³⁸ She later found the drivers quite reckless and often resorted to squeezing her eyes shut whenever things looked dangerous.

Once-timid Agnes continued her public talks, employing a technique gleaned from Martha Root. Before delivering a talk she wrote everything out, keeping as close to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s words as she could. When she finished talking she would hand out copies of the address to the newsmen in attendance, thereby assuring the best chance for full and accurate reporting.

The year of Agnes’ return to Japan coincided with the coronation of Emperor Hirohito who succeeded his father, Yoshihito, two years earlier. He was presented with seven specially bound Bahá’í books along with a message from Shoghi Effendi: “May the perusal of Bahá’í literature enable your Imperial Majesty to appreciate the sublimity and penetrative power of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation and inspire you on this auspicious occasion to arise for its worldwide recognition and triumph.”³⁹ Aside from Queen Marie of Rumania, the Emperor was the only sovereign addressed by the Guardian.⁴⁰

Triumphant pilgrimage

At 54, Agnes climbed Mt. Fuji, Japan’s highest peak (elevation 12,365 feet), in the company of Buddhist pilgrims. Climbing throughout a moonlit night, she joined her companions at dawn for prayers. “All stood in reverence with heads bared while from under the clouds the glorious sun rose illuminating the mountainside ... Looking down the mountain, as far as the eye could see, there was a continuous white-robed procession ascending the winding trail ...”⁴¹

Martha Root, fresh from a triumphant pilgrimage through Persia, returned to China in September 1930. Agnes left Tokyo and rendezvoused with her in Shanghai. The Bahá’í pioneers residing in that city warmly welcomed the energetic duo. A major triumph of the trip was the spontaneous offer by Dr. Tsao, the president of Tsing Hua University, to translate Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era into Chinese. Martha was so touched by his offer that her eyes filled with tears of gratitude.⁴²

Returning to Japan, the two plunged into an exhausting round of speaking engagements. The crowning event was Martha’s talk over Tokyo radio station JOAK on “The Progress of the Bahá’í Movement in the Five Continents.” The talk was later published in the Japan Times.⁴³

Inspiration guided Agnes Alexander’s life. On many occasions she anticipated by some mysterious intuition spiritually significant events. One of these was the visit to Japan of Keith Ransom-Kehler⁴⁴ in June 1931. Agnes had never met Keith: “... I had only known her through her writings, yet even before the cable reached me telling of her coming, an expectant joy

[Page 8] filled my heart—a joy which came from an unseen source and was not connected with the world about me.”⁴⁵ Keith’s intellectual and spiritual brilliance dazzled Agnes and all others who heard her. Agnes credited her with laying the foundation for the formation of Japan’s first Bahá’í Assembly—a goal Shoghi Effendi had set for Agnes. One day Keith came into Agnes’ room and read aloud to her an article she had just written on “The Station of Martyrdom.” “How significant it now seems,” Agnes later recalled, “when she herself has attained this high distinction among the American believers and become their first martyr.”⁴⁶

‘Exemplary devotion’

The year 1932 was one of victories for Agnes. On March 13 she awoke with the inspiration to form Japan’s first Bahá’í Assembly. Eight days later she cabled the Guardian: “NAW RUZ GREETINGS TOKYO ASSEMBLY.” He replied, “LOVING REMEMBRANCE SHOGHI.”⁴⁷ That December, the long-awaited translation of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era into Japanese came from the printers. When copies reached the Holy Land, Shoghi Effendi placed them with his own hands alongside 14 other versions at Bahjí, where they would be “a constant reminder” of Agnes’ “perseverance,” “magnificent efforts” and “exemplary devotion to the Cause of God.”⁴⁸

A death in the family in June 1933 prompted Agnes to return to Hawaii. By May 1935 she was back at her post in Japan. The fledgling Assembly she had helped form was scattered. It appeared that the Cause had not progressed during her absence; but this did not trouble her. She was confident that “His guiding power” was leading the way.⁴⁹

A tragic event during this time was the Toriis’ loss of their only son, 17-year-old Akira, whose name means “shining light.” Instead of despairing, however, they were happy, and sensed that he was spiritually near. As a memorial to Akira, Mr. Torii translated Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era into Japanese Braille. Perhaps it was a fulfillment of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s wish, expressed in a Tablet to Akira’s parents at the time of his birth: “Akira, whose name may be ever blessed for it is quite an appropriate one ...”⁵⁰

Next: Further triumphs, 1937-1971.

NOTES

1. Audio recording of Agnes Alexander in Menlo Park, California, 1961. “Legacies of Service” tape, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, 1980.
2. Dr. Augur (1858-1927), a homeopathic physician, had moved to Hawaii from Oakland, California, in 1898. Around 1909 he and his wife Ruth embraced the Faith. He was the first from Hawaii to pioneer, and reached Japan only months before Agnes. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá commended him for his pioneering efforts: “A thousand times bravo to thy high magnanimity and exalted aim! ... Ere long this transcendent Light will wholly enlighten the East and the West!” (History of the Bahá’í Faith in Japan: 1914-1938, pp. 12-13). After his passing, Dr. Augur was designated a “Disciple of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá” by Shoghi Effendi (The Bahá’í World, Vol IV, pp. 118-19).
3. Though the first to declare in Japan, Mr. Fukuta was actually the fourth Japanese Bahá’í in the world. The first was Mr. Kanichi Yamamoto (1879-1961) who embraced the Faith in Honolulu in September 1902. The second was the well-known Saichiro Fujita (1886-1976) who became a Bahá’í in Oakland, California, around 1905. (Japan Will Turn Ablaze!, p. 18). Mr. Fujita served the Master, the Guardian, and the Universal House of Justice as a gardener at the World Centre. The third Japanese Bahá’í was Mr. Kenzo Torikai of Seattle, Washington.
4. Helen Bishop, “His Japanese Witnesses,” The Bahá’í World, Vol. X (1944-46), p. 686.
5. Agnes Alexander, History of the Bahá’í Faith in Japan: 1914-1938, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Japan, 1977, p. 20.
6. Star of the West, Vol. 14, No. 4, p. 898.
7. Agnes Alexander, History of the Bahá’í Faith in Japan, p. 17.
8. Mr. Tokujiro Torii (1894-1970), whose surname means “gate,” was described by Martha Root as being “lovable like St. John” (Bahá’í News, No. 111, October 1937, p. 4). Keith Ransom-Kehler stayed at the Torii home in 1931 and said she had “never known such kindness.” (Star of the West, 24:12, p. 374). He translated into Japanese Braille such works as the Kitáb-i-

Another photograph of Agnes Alexander in New York City, 1919.

Agnes Alexander on board a ship, circa 1928.

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Iqán, The Hidden Words, and The Seven Valleys. The Emperor decorated Mr. Torii for his services to his blind countrymen (History of the Bahá’í Faith in Japan, p. 109).

9. Tokujiro Torii, “The Bahá’í Movement in Japan,” The Bahá’í World, Vol. IV (1930-32), p. 490.
10. Alexander, Japan, p. 30.
11. Also present on that historic occasion were Agnes Alexander’s “spiritual mother,” May Maxwell, and “the incomparable” Martha Root. Martha arose immediately after the Convention to take the Message to every major city in South America. Shoghi Effendi said she was “the first to arise, in the very year the Tablets” were unveiled to put the Plan into action. (God Passes By, p. 386).
12. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets of the Divine Plan, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, 1959, p. 13.
13. Alexander, Japan, p. 64.
14. Ibid., p. 65.
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid., p. 67.
18. Letter from Agnes Alexander, April 11, 1922, National Bahá’í Archives, Hawaii.
19. Letter from Agnes Alexander, April 23, 1922, National Bahá’í Archives, Hawaii.
20. Japan Will Turn Ablaze!, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Japan, 1974, p. 27.
21. Ibid., p. 53.
22. Alexander, Japan, p. 58.
23. Japan Will Turn Ablaze!, p. 45.
24. Star of the West, Vol. 4, No. 6, p. 184.
25. Martha Louise Root (1872-1939) was on her fourth trip around the world when she passed away in Honolulu in September 1939. Shoghi Effendi said, “posterity will establish her as (the) foremost Hand (of the Cause) which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s will has raised up (in the) first Bahá’í century.” (Messages to America: 1932-1946, p. 30).
26. Alexander, Japan, p. 46.
27. Laurens van der Post, A Portrait of Japan, London: The Hogarth Press, 1968, p. 15.
28. Alexander, Japan, p. 48.
29. Baḥíyyih Khánum (1846-1932) was the daughter of Bahá’u’lláh, and His companion throughout His years of exile and imprisonment. Bahá’u’lláh revealed a Tablet in which He said of her: “Verily, We have elevated thee to the rank of one of the most distinguished among thy sex, and granted thee, in My court, a station such as none other woman hath surpassed.” (The Bahá’í World, Vol. V, p. 171). Shoghi Effendi said she was “comparable in rank to those immortal heroines such as Sarah, Asiyih, the Virgin Mary, Fatimih, and Ṭáhirih.” (God Passes By, p. 347).
30. Alexander, Japan, p. 49.
31. Ibid., p. 55.
32. Letter from Mary C. Alexander, January 3, 1924, National Bahá’í Archives, Honolulu, Hawaii.
33. Letter from Agnes Alexander, October 27, 1923, National Bahá’í Archives, Honolulu, Hawaii.
34. Alexander, Japan, p. 60.
35. Japan Will Turn Ablaze!, p. 1.
36. Ibid., p. 51.
37. Agnes Alexander, Forty Years of the Bahá’í Cause in Hawaii: 1902-1942, published by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Hawaiian Islands, 1970, rev. ed. 1974, p. 32.
38. Letter from Agnes Alexander, February 2, 1928, National Bahá’í Archives, Honolulu, Hawaii.
39. Alexander, Japan, p. 77.
40. On November 9, 1930, at the request of Martha Root, the following cable was sent by Shoghi Effendi to the Emperor: “Kindly transmit his Imperial Majesty, Tokyo, Japan, on behalf of myself and Bahá’ís world over, expression of our deepest love as well as assurance of heartfelt prayers for his well-being, and prosperity of his ancient realm.” (The Bahá’í World, Vol. IV, p. 433).
41. Agnes Alexander, “The Pilgrims of Mount Fuji,” Star of the West, Vol. 20, No. 9, p. 286.
42. Alexander, Japan, p. 61.
43. Alexander, “The Pilgrims of Mount Fuji,” p. 286.
44. Keith Ransom-Kehler (1878-1933) died of smallpox while on a special mission to Persia to appeal to the Shah to remove the ban on Bahá’í literature. “American believers grateful and proud of the memory of their first and distinguished martyr,” wrote Shoghi Effendi. Her “international services entitle her to an eminent rank among the Hands of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.” (The Bahá’í World, Vol. 5, p. 398).
45. Agnes Alexander, “Keith Ransom-Kehler in Japan: A Tribute,” Star of the West, Vol. 24, No. 12, p. 372.
46. Ibid., p. 374.
47. Alexander, Japan, p. 84.
48. Ibid., p. 87.
49. Ibid., p. 90.
50. Ibid., p. 94.

Keith Ransom-Kehler (left) with Agnes Alexander and Mr. K. Sudo, a student at Keio University, Tokyo. The photograph was taken in 1931.

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Youth Academy growing, succeeding

The Bahá’í Youth Academy was established June 27, 1982, in Panchgani, India.

Its aim was to establish a permanent institution for Bahá’í scholarship as well as to provide a national center for deepening and training Bahá’ís from all parts of India who, armed with new-found knowledge and skills, could then return to their home states and set up similar programs and “permanent training institute activities”—as called for in the second phase of India’s Seven Year Plan—for deepening the friends in their local language.

Since its inception the Academy has held three successful courses, each with a different emphasis.

The first course, of six weeks’ duration, was a general one for youth and drew 36 participants. It was held simultaneously with a similar course in Persian for 99 Persian pioneers from India and abroad.

The second course was lengthened to seven weeks to include a week-long “spiritualization” element, and was designed specifically for the members of State Teaching Committees. The course focused on the functions and administration of these vital and unique State institutions.

The third course, three weeks long, was for Bahá’í women and included special classes on the role and station of Bahá’í women in the community and the family as well as a class on famous women in Bahá’í history.

To date (March 1983), 162 students from 16 States in India, the Andaman Islands, and the neighboring countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have completed courses at the Academy.

This article on the Bahá’í Youth Academy in Panchgani, India, is reprinted from the March 1983 issue of Bahá’í News India.

Each of the courses, though having its own unique character and emphasis, follows the same basic outline: six classes per day, each class one hour long, for six days each week.

Each class has its own daily assignments, and most of them have final examinations at the end of the course. The core subjects covered in every Academy course are:

• Bahá’í administration
• Laws and ordinances
• Bahá’í history
• The Covenant
• Opposition to and protection of the Faith
• Bahá’í education
• Bahá’í principles

Additional classes have so far included:

• Teaching the Faith
• Selected chapters from Some Answered Questions
• Progressive Revelation and the history of religions
• The station of women and famous Bahá’í women
• Women in Bahá’í administration
• Organizing Bahá’í activities
• Family life
• Spiritualization course on The Seven Valleys

In addition, an extracurricular course in black and white photography and darkroom techniques has been a regular and popular feature of each course.

It will be readily recognized that the courses are both rigorous and thrilling. As Bahá’u’lláh tells us:

“Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its depths.”

Within the first day or two of a course, students at the Academy find themselves fully immersed in the vast ocean of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation. Within the first week, they catch the first glimmerings of the immensity, majesty and power for transformation of the Holy Writings, while their teachers observe in them a new sense of belonging to a Cause far more mighty than they had realized before.

Usually, about halfway through a course, the students begin to feel “drowned” in the ocean of assignments, wondering whether it is really necessary to cover so much material in so short a time; but by the last week, most of them request that the Academy “extend the course for one more week,” having come to realize that no matter how many weeks they’ve had to devote solely to Bahá’í studies, they have only skimmed the surface of that vast and limitless ocean of Bahá’u’lláh’s words. And when their examinations are over, the students’ usual sense of relief is tempered by a desire to know more, and a hunger and thirst to

[Page 11] A cornerstone signifying the permanent establishment of the Bahá’í Youth Academy at Panchgani, India, is set in place in a ceremony in June 1982. As of March 1983, 162 students had completed courses at the Academy.

delve even more deeply into the Revelation.

Teachers at the Academy come from the highly qualified cadre of professional educators in the Panchgani Bahá’í community—including the principal, counsellor and staff members of the New Era School—and from those Bahá’ís from other parts of India who are distinguished for their knowledge of the Faith and their ability to teach.

This group of visiting teachers has included Counsellors, Auxiliary Board members and members of national committees in India, and will in future include distinguished Bahá’í teachers from abroad. Most of the teachers use the methods of discussion and question an answer, thus involving the students actively in the learning process rather than requiring them to listen passively to a lecture.

The Academy was conceptualized by the National Youth Committee of India through consultation with Counsellor Burháni’d-Dín Afshín in March and April 1982. Since that time, it has grown in gradual stages.

When planning was begun for the first course, the Academy had only one full-time staff member—the director. An assistant director was needed, and was promptly added. After the first course, the staff grew to five, with the new members being the head of the library and correspondence courses, and the head of the department of physical arrangements (including housing, food, purchasing, finance) and his assistant.

During the third course, the Academy expanded once again: an office assistant and accounts assistant were added to the already existing departments, and the audio-visual department, with a staff of three, was formed. This newest department is concerned with producing films and video tapes for use in the classroom and in villages. Thus, in the short space of nine months the Academy grew from one staff member and one department to 10 staff members, all working on a voluntary basis, and four departments.

A design is now being made for the building that will house the Academy and its departments in the area known as Kanga Hills, Panchgani. Funds contributed during the opening and closing conferences of the first course will enable the Academy to begin construction of a building that will ultimately include offices for the various departments, dormitories and dining space for around 60 students, one or two classrooms, a conference hall, a library and darkroom. Construction is to begin as soon as the master plan for the entire Kanga Hills site, which will include buildings for the New Era Junior College and the Institute of Rural Technology, has been completed.

Before the completion of its first year of courses, the Academy will hold three more courses: a five-week course for students at the New Era School to help prepare them for their pioneering services to all parts of the world; a course for graduating students at the Rabbani Bahá’í School; and a course for youth, especially State and Local Youth Committee members.

Through numerous tests and difficulties, through the dedicated efforts of a close-knit staff, through the support of its parent institutions, the National Spiritual Assembly and National Youth Committee of India, through the unstinting cooperation, encouragement and assistance of the Counsellors residing in India, through the selfless services of knowledgeable friends who have sacrificed their time to teach at the Academy, through the confirmation, encouragement and prayers of the Universal House of Justice and the International Teaching Centre, through the ever-present and keenly felt showers of blessings from the Ancient Beauty, and because of the crying need for such an institution in this vast and receptive country, the Academy, though still young, has already grown into a viable institution and an effective instrument for service to the Cause of God.

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Marriage institute ‘breaks new ground’

The Marriage Institute held August 14-20 at the Louhelen Bahá’í School near Davison, Michigan, broke new ground in the application of Bahá’í teachings on marriage in daily life, according to Mrs. Mary Kay Radpour, one of the research assistants working under Dr. Hossain Danesh, who conducted the institute.

“For the research assistants,” said Mrs. Radpour, “the week was a peak experience professionally and in terms of Bahá’í deepening and service. We all feel as though we are seeing the world with new eyes.”

Dr. Danesh is a professor of psychiatry and family medicine at the University of Ottawa and chairman of both the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada and the executive committee of the Association for Bahá’í Studies.

He has been studying marriage from the point of view of the Bahá’í teachings and has done scientific research for several years with the aim of developing a scientific model for a healthy marriage. It was this work he drew upon in conducting the institute.

Also serving as faculty members were two other members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada, Dr. Glen Eyford and Mrs. Ruth Eyford.

The institute was attended by about 30 married couples and five single people, and by about 35 children who, together with staff, faculty and research assistants, filled Louhelen to capacity.

The program included a keynote talk each day by Dr. Danesh, followed by afternoon discussion groups.

In the evenings, spouses wrote letters to each other on the subject for the day, and separately filled out questionnaires on the next day’s topic which they compared before turning them in.

One of the objectives was to stimulate a spirit of inquiry within the North American Bahá’í community about marriage.

“I was pleased with the response of the participants,” said Dr. Danesh. “They showed a high degree of interest and enthusiasm, as well as a lot of earnest self-examination, which is necessary if people are to improve the way they relate to each other.”

The institute was sponsored jointly by the Association for Bahá’í Studies and the Louhelen Bahá’í School Council.

“The Association is making an important contribution to the intellectual and spiritual development of the Bahá’í community,” said Dr. Geoffry Marks, Louhelen’s director of academic affairs, “and we look forward to collaborating further with the Association in holding similar programs in the future.”

Another note: There was an excellent mixture of Americans and Canadians at the institute. Out of about 100 people who participated, roughly 45 were Canadian.

Subjects covered included an overview of Bahá’í marriage, communication in marriage, love in marriage, sex in marriage, and anger and crisis in marriage.

Dr. Eyford, a professor of community development and education at the University of Alberta and a member of the Association’s executive committee, served as evaluator of the proceedings and commented daily on the process the faculty and participants were following.

An evaluation of participants will also be conducted six and 12 months after the session to assess whether the institute has had an impact on their marital behavior and attitudes.

Among the research assistants were Mrs. Eyford, a therapist; Dr. Sam McClellan, a psychiatrist; and Mrs. Radpour, a family therapist.

Other research assistants were counselors, educators and graduate students pursuing careers in mental health, medicine, education, or social services.

Shown are many of the participants in a marriage institute held August 14-20 at the Louhelen Bahá’í School near Davison, Michigan. The week-long institute was conducted chiefly by Dr. Hossain Danesh (seated in foreground closest to camera), who is a professor of psychiatry and family medicine at the University of Ottawa and chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada.

[Page 13]

The world

More than 5,000 declare in Honduras

More than 5,000 residents of Honduras declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh as a result of “Operation Badi-Azar,” a teaching campaign last July 7-August 7 that involved a teaching team of 10 to 20 members and the support of more than 50 other Bahá’ís.

The first two weeks were centered near Cortes, where 14 communities were visited. The teaching work included evening proclamation meetings that featured music, talks, games and a slide presentation.

Thousands of pamphlets and prayer sheets were given to local residents, and team members were interviewed by a television station and two radio stations.

The last half of the campaign was focused in the area of Atlantida, where a special consolidation team met with new and veteran Bahá’ís and with members of Local Spiritual Assemblies. Meanwhile, the teaching work reached 13 towns in that area.

The campaign, encouraged by the Continental Board of Counsellors and supported by the National Spiritual Assembly of Honduras, was dedicated to the memory of the martyrs and friends in Iran. It was organized by the National Teaching Committee of Honduras.

The National Assembly points out that the 5,109 new believers raised up is “a vivid reminder that the blood of the martyrs is not shed in vain and that the victories are waiting to be won.”

* * *

More than 160 youth from 10 countries attended a Bahá’í International Youth Conference last March 31-April 2 in Siguatepeque, Honduras.

Among the participants were Counsellors Hedi Aḥmadíyyih, Artemus Lamb and Ruth Pringle, and members of the Auxiliary Board from Guatemala and Honduras.

Shown with seekers are Bahá’ís who participated last July and August in ‘Operation Badi-Azar,’ a teaching campaign in Honduras in which more than 5,000 people declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh.

The program included presentations on the Covenant, spiritual enrichment, the Bahá’í Funds, the reality of man, and topics of special concern to youth including love, engagement, and marriage.

Youth from several countries shared their songs, while others performed national dances or presented plays. The most popular evening program was a showing of the film, “The Pilgrimage.”

Windward Islands

More than 50 Bahá’ís and their guests participated last August 15-20 in the first Bahá’í Summer School held in Dennery, St. Lucia, Windward Islands.

Separate classes were held each morning for children, pre-teens, youth and adults. Classes focused on progressive revelation, the relationship of the Faith to Christianity, and living a Bahá’í life.

Music, crafts and swimming were among the activities offered each afternoon.

Teams of Bahá’ís visited local believers inviting them to join the Summer School activities. Friends and relatives were told about the Faith, resulting in the enrollment of 18 new believers during the school session.

[Page 14]

Switzerland

Shown is the new Landegg Bahá’í Centre near Rohrschach, Switzerland, a facility for European schools, seminars and conferences that is under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of Switzerland. An article about the Centre, which was dedicated the weekend of June 4-5, 1983, appeared in the October issue of Bahá’í News.

Vanuatu

As a result of successful teaching in the Lenakel area of Vanuatu, there are now Bahá’ís in inland villages around Sidni.

There are 11 new believers in Waisisi, and children’s classes are being held in six localities.

Two young girls joined a traveling teacher who recently visited eight Local Spiritual Assemblies in a two-week period. The girls made the teaching trip during their holiday from secondary school.

The National Spiritual Assembly of Vanuatu is preparing a booklet of prayers and Bahá’í writings in the Tannese language.

Canada

An International Bahá’í Youth Conference will be held August 24-28, 1984, at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada.

The campus is two hours from Detroit, Michigan, and is serviced by major national airlines. There is space for 2,500 youth ages 14-24. The conference is open to non-Bahá’í youth.

Ecuador

Villagers in Mataje, Ecuador, line a river bank awaiting the arrival last April of a teaching team that was participating in the ‘Enoch Olinga Project’ in the country’s Esmeraldas Province. Mataje is the farthest town up the Mataje River visited by the team of Bahá’ís.

[Page 15]

Trinidad/Tobago

About 110 people were enrolled in the Faith last July 9-31 in Trinidad and Tobago during the nationwide “New Dawn-breakers Teaching Project.”

The campaign, dedicated to “the martyrs of our time,” was supported by Bahá’ís all over the country and by visits by Bahá’ís from other countries.

One of its primary goals was to visit the new Bahá’ís and to help deepen them and teach members of their families.

Among the participants were Counsellors Peter McLaren and Donald Witzel and Auxiliary Board member Frank Mann from Venezuela.

The effort was begun simultaneously in the eastern and southern areas, then proceeded to Tobago for teaching work in Mt. Grace and Mason Hall.

The last six days were devoted to teaching in the northern area of Trinidad.

About 50 Bahá’ís participated in the campaign in Tobago, while more than 50 carried out the successful effort in the northern area of Trinidad.

* * *

Twenty-two people attended the “First Nine-Day Full-Time Spiritualization Institute” August 5-14 in San Fernando, Trinidad. The institute was coordinated by Jenabe Caldwell, a Bahá’í from Hawaii.

Study sessions focused on prayer, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh and The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys by Bahá’u’lláh.

The final two days were devoted to studying the prerequisites for teaching as outlined by Shoghi Effendi in The Advent of Divine Justice.

Bahá’ís Gregory Paul from Europe (left) and Frank Mann, an Auxiliary Board member from Venezuela, perform during a 22-day teaching campaign last July in Trinidad and Tobago.

Patricia Coward (at microphone) speaks during a public meeting that was part of a 22-day teaching campaign last July in Trinidad and Tobago.

Shown are delegates and guests who attended the 13th Bahá’í National Convention of Trinidad and Tobago last May 21-22 at the district Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Palmyra, Trinidad.

Correction

In the July 1983 issue of Bahá’í News, the Saderat Bank in Kermanshah, Iran, was mistakenly identified as the “Saderak” Bank. Also in that same article, the name Shidrokh “Dagha” should read “Bagha.” Mrs. Bagha was not a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Tehran, as we reported, but was hostess at a meeting of that Assembly when she was executed with six of its members in December 1981.

[Page 16]

Tanzania

One hundred fifty-eight people declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh during a recent three-week teaching campaign in the Same District of Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro region. Most of the new Bahá’ís are members of the Pare tribe.

Three new localities were opened to the Faith, six administrative committees were formed, and one new Spiritual Assembly was elected in the village of Kirinjiko where 30 people became Bahá’ís.

The eight-member teaching team included local Bahá’ís, pioneers, and two children.

Films were shown and the Faith proclaimed to audiences of more than 200 at the Same Secondary School, Same Agricultural College, Same Maternal and Child Health Training School, and the town center. There are now 42 believers at Mmbaga Manka Secondary School.

Deepening sessions were held for the new Bahá’ís, most of whom enrolled for further study in the national correspondence course.

The Faith was also proclaimed to teachers and students at two primary schools, and at one of them the headmaster and five teachers became Bahá’ís.

Nepal

Pictured are delegates and guests at the 1983 Bahá’í National Convention held last May 29 in Nepal. Special guests included the Hand of the Cause of God H. Collis Featherstone (third row, right of center) and his wife, Madge.

Alaska

Counsellors for the Americas Lauretta King and Raúl Pavón attended a presentation last March in Anchorage, Alaska, of an award for service to humanity given by the Bahá’ís of Anchorage to an Inupiat Eskimo healer, Della Keats, in memory of Honor Kempton, an outstanding Bahá’í teacher.

Also present were local and state officials and media representatives.

* * *

Delegates representing 50 Spiritual Assemblies joined some 200 other Bahá’ís May 27-29 at the 27th Bahá’í National Convention of Alaska in Anchorage.

Special guests were Counsellor Lauretta King and Auxiliary Board members Fletcher Bennett, Audrey Reynolds and Hal Sexton. Also present were 14 assistants to the Auxiliary Board.

Members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Alaska elected during the Convention are Tod Jones (chairman), Georgia Heisler (vice-chairman), Becky Murphy (secretary), Hugh Gray (treasurer), Donald Anderson, Eugene King, John Kolstoe, Robert Putnam and Charlotte Siverly.

France

Four years of contact with the Esperantists by one of the members of the Bahá’í community of Nantes, France, has resulted in his sharing with the 25-member Assembly of the Esperanto Association copies of the “white paper” on the plight of Bahá’ís in Iran.

That body then decided to distribute the booklet to every family and individual in the association. Friendly meetings have taken place between Bahá’ís and members of the group, and the organization has been supplied with more of the Bahá’í Writings.

[Page 17]

Dominican Republic

Shown are delegates and guests at the Bahá’í National Convention held last May 28-30 in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

Germany

Shortly after the executions last June of 16 Bahá’ís in Shíráz, Iran, unprecedented happenings occurred in Germany.

For example, one morning not too long after the executions, nationwide radio networks in Germany began to broadcast news of the executions and a report of the appeal by the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany to human rights and women’s organizations. This news was broadcast across the country every hour.

That same afternoon, the national television network joined in by broadcasting reports of the executions during its national news programs. As a result, millions of Germans heard of the Faith.

Non-Bahá’í residents in Langenhain, a village near Frankfurt which is the site of the Mother Temple of Europe, spontaneously went to the House of Worship where they prayed for about an hour for the relief of Iranian Bahá’ís.

Pictured are Bahá’í youth from Frankfurt, Germany, and nearby communities who are members of the Bahá’í Football Club (BFC) of Frankfurt that was organized in 1982. The club is supervised by the Spiritual Assembly of Frankfurt and plays against teams of Bahá’ís and teams from various schools. Team members are (standing left to right) Sharoch Danechjou, Homayoun Hadji (coach), Hamid Pereschkian, Farza Bahremand, Johnny Bidardel (captain), Vahid Aminian, Peyman Hadjian, and (seated left to right) Amin Berdjis (manager), Warqha Enayati (president), Erfan Enayati, Siamak Roshanai, and (foreground) Alexander Göthmann (goal-keeper).

Malaysia

In response to a request that Chinese-speaking Bahá’ís in Malaysia spend their school holidays visiting Chinese communities, two members of the International Chinese Teaching Committee made a recent trip to Chinese communities in Ipoh, Jenjarom, Subang New Village, Machap Umboo, Bemban, Tangkak and Bukit Mertajam, Malaysia.

In each community, the two traveling teachers conducted deepening classes and spoke at firesides. As a result, six people declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh.

[Page 18]

An intriguing novel for all ages—

FROM BEHIND THE VEIL

by KATHLEEN JEMISON DEMAS

the story of Ṭáhirih the foremost heroine of the Bábi era retold in a manner that brings alive questions we have all secretly pondered: What would it have been like to have been alive in the time of Christ? to have found yourself one of the first followers of the Báb? Caroline Smith, a young woman from North America, had thought often about the fortunate first disciples of Christ. By strange, but fortuitous circumstances, she finds herself living a part of history she thought would never be repeated. Caroline becomes a member of Ṭáhirih’s household and an intimate of that remarkable woman as she seeks—and finds—the Promised Qá’im. New flashes of understanding (along with the suspense and drama of a gripping story) accompany the familiar outlines of Ṭáhirih’s life

• her discovery of the writings of Siyyid Káẓim
• her recognition of the Báb and her enrollment as the 17th Letter of the Living
• her heroic championing of the new religion
• her captivating presence that drew others to her and to the Báb’s teachings whether she was free or imprisoned
• her casting aside her veil as a symbol of a new day of equality for women and men
• her triumphant martyrdom

What you will find astonishing is that From Behind the Veil is not dry-as-dust history. It evokes what it is like to encounter that which is more real than the physical objects about you, whether 2,000 years ago, 140 years ago, or yesterday, when you found the Bahá’í Faith—of what it is like to see, but not from behind a veil.

KATHLEEN JEMISON DEMAS is an English teacher, a wife,
and a mother of two. She has published several articles
and a play in Child’s Way.

Softcover pocket-sized edition
121 pages,
list of characters,
glossary
Catalog No. 332-108

$2^50*

Available from

Bahá’í Publishing Trust
415 LINDEN AVENUE, WILMETTE, IL 60091

*Valid only in the United States. All others write for
prices and ordering and shipping instructions.